The future generation of driver assistance systems, which are expected to come onto the automotive vehicle market within the next few years, is capable of taking over the lateral and longitudinal control of the motor vehicle in order to autonomously carry out the entire parking maneuver. The function of such parking assistance systems is based on the use of a group of sensors for monitoring the surroundings as well as on decision logic for the best possible execution of the parking procedure.
The control logic of such parking assistance systems typically includes a plurality of operating modes and phases, for example, an activation phase (in which the driver activates the system by signaling the desire to park and, optionally, specifies the shape of the parking space or perpendicular or parallel parking), the search for available parking spaces, the actual maneuvering phase, optionally interrupting or aborting the parking procedure, certain measures after the parking maneuver has ended (e.g., actuating the parking brake or shutting off the engine) and, optionally, a mode for exiting the parking space, in which the vehicle, for example, is moved out of a tight parking space or the driver is enabled to easily exit a parking space.
With respect to the prior art, reference is made only to DE 10 2005 058 499 A1, by way of example.